


power: what do we do with it

by sleepdeprivedmaniac



Category: fromis_9 (Band)
Genre: F/F, also underground fighting! because I want to, also: im bad at summaries, chaeng is also a main character shes just not in the summary, is this self indulgent? yes dont judge me, powers au because why not, side characters wont be tagged (unless they are cause im bad like that), tagging relationships as they appear, yes there is swearing yes there is mentions of sex and sexy things i write maturely for some reason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 05:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19846324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepdeprivedmaniac/pseuds/sleepdeprivedmaniac
Summary: Years ago we were still reading about superheroes in comic books, wishing that we had powers like the X-Men and thinking that villains only existed in the movies. Then a third grade kid started flying in the middle of class.Seoyeon does what she needs to to get by. She works a nice job, pays the bills, tries not to burn the apartment down everytime she has a bad day. But in the ring, she feels more under control than anywhere else. But the ring isn't her home anymore. It can't be, if she truly wants to live in peace with her ability.





	power: what do we do with it

**Author's Note:**

> YEET first time posting something in six months :D 
> 
> I'm still fairly new to fromis so if i messed up im sorry hfsjaj but this was 100% an impulse write so what can you do
> 
> feel free to leave any comments, and enjoy

The average day for Seoyeon isn’t very hard to achieve. She wakes up, showers, then goes through nearly half a tub of concealer to make the bags under her eyes look at least presentable before going to work. And work is really fun, actually. She loves her job, even when the perv in Jisoo’s yoga class comes in and tries to look down her shirt. Mostly because right after that is when her women’s self defense class starts, and she _loves_ her women’s self defense class.

It’s mostly made up of women in their late 20s to early 40s, with some older teenagers or college students sprinkled in. Some of them don’t really need it, like the woman whose skin turns to steel or the one who can rapidly change others body temperature (which doesn’t seem that bad until she was on her period and made Seoyeon feel like she was going to faint with fever), but she doesn’t judge. They all need something to do, right? And this is a productive, positive, self-bettering activity.

The exact opposite of what she does that has her groaning in bed, so sore that she’s thinking of cancelling for the day.

“I only cancel in case of emergencies,” she mutters to herself, wincing at the dull pain that throbs in her jaw. 

“So being so sore that you can barely move isn’t an emergency?”

“The last time I cancelled was when my uncle died, use that as a comparison.”

“Well I don’t know, teaching a class that requires a lot of movement seems pretty impossible when you can’t move.”

She’s about to retort when she pauses, groaning in realization. If she were here, Chaeyoung would tease her for talking to herself again. She’ll probably call her to carry her around today, if she can roll over to reach her phone. Instead she groans again, averting her eyes from the copious bruises on her arm as she lifts it to throw a hand over her eyes.

“Hey Siri,” she calls. The phone gives its telling beep. “Call Haein, put her on speaker.”

The dial tone ends after a couple of rings, her boss’s voice coming in clear through the receiver. Seoyeon chuckles at her ‘dead to the world’ tone. Another reason why she likes her job: her boss isn’t a morning person, so the gym opens closer to noon.

“Hello?” she calls. Seoyeon clears her throat.

“Hey Haein, um, I can’t come in today, so you’ll have to cancel my class. Really, really sorry,” she says, wincing in anticipation.

“What?! Why not?”

“I’m uh, feeling a bit under the weather.” She coughs a bit for good measure, hoping that it’s loud enough to sound haggard and genuine. A silent cheer of victory escapes when she hears Haein sigh and she throws her arms up, hissing as pain shoots through her fist when she accidentally hits the headboard.

“Fine, I’ll cancel. Get better soon, okay Firecracker?”

She tries to ignore the burn in her palms at the nickname, holding her arm to her chest. “Yeah, will do.”

Haein hangs up just as she looks at the time, sighing when she sees that its nearly ten. ‘At least I don’t have to do anything today,’ she thinks. The sun shines through her curtainless windows, exposing her home to the rest of the city. She really should get some, just so her friends could call her even more of a vampire. Whatever, not her fault that she likes dark colors.

She mentally prepares herself to get up, silently counting to three before sitting up and ignoring her burning muscles. It’s mostly her upper body that took the worst of it, but her hip screams in protest from where she fell on it last night once her feet hit the hardwood. She runs a hand along the exposed brick of her apartment, grabbing her phone before slowly walking to her kitchen. Her phone rings just as she gets to the fridge, and she doesn’t even look before answering, too busy scanning her half-empty shelves for what she could possibly eat.

“Hello?” she rasps.

“Have I ever told you how hot your morning voice is?”

Seoyeon rolls her eyes, simply grabbing an apple before closing the fridge. “Good morning to you too Chaeyoung, how are you doing?”

“Oh you know we don’t do that shit, come on,” Chaeyoung says. Seoyeon snorts quietly when she hears the telling clank of weights in the background. Like that woman needs to go to the gym. “I saw your fight last night. You haven’t gotten beat like that in a while, you okay?”

Seoyeon furrows her brow, taking a bite of her apple. “What do you mean? I didn’t see you there.”

“I wasn’t there, but Rhonda had someone take video and it got shared all over Twitter or something.”

The blonde groans. “Don’t tell me I’ve gone viral.”

“Not completely. Hoseok’s trying to keep it on the low, otherwise your whole ring is getting busted. But everyone who’s seen it is calling it another smackdown. And uh, I might be one of them.”

“Shut up,” Seoyeon whines, hopping up onto the counter. She glances down when she feels apple juice sliding down her palm, wiping it on a towel before switching hands. On second thought, she puts her phone on speaker and sets it down beside her, flexing her fingers to try and soothe the burn. 

“I keep telling you, if you just use your powers then you’ll win every time.”

“Okay for one, I already told you that I’m not using my powers during fights anymore.” She hears Chaeyoung sigh through the receiver, but carries on. “And two, that’s illegal in human fights.”

“You’re already committing a crime just by stepping in the ring, Seoyeon, no harm in just making sure that you win.”

“If I want to get banned, sure.” Seoyeon rolls her eyes. She throws away the core, picking up her phone and moving to the bathroom. “I’m not doing it, Chaeng, end of story.”

The other woman sighs again. “Fine, you win this round,” she says. Seoyeon hears her fiddle around with some things, then the sound of a door opening. “So you’re home?”

“Yeah, I called off work.” She sets her phone on the edge of the sink, dipping her fingers into the face scrub. “Why?”

“So I can come over then?”

“Ah, you want to mooch off me again.” She laughs when Chaeyoung huffs, doing the final touches before washing her hands. “I’m about to shower.”

“Even better, I’ll join you.”

Seoyeon sighs as she shimmies out of her sleep shorts, starting to run the water. “Fine, but only if you don’t break my door.”

“Great!” Chaeyoung’s voice rings with mischief as she bounds up the stairs. Then she pauses, a whine to her voice. “But I don’t have a key.” Seoyeon smirks.

“Exactly. Get me a muffin while you’re out,” she says brightly, then hangs up before the younger woman can protest. Her chuckles bounce off of the tile as she steps into the shower, ready for the warm stream to soothe her sore body.

“You’re a menace,” Chaeyoung accuses as she enters, handing Seoyeon the Tim Hortons bag. The blonde scoffs, looking over the woman dressed in only a crop top and leggings. 'Idiot, it’s starting to get cold out.'

“And you’re a horndog, what else is new?”

“Shut up, I had an underwhelming fight the other day,” she whines, taking a bite of her own breakfast sandwich. “All this excess energy is bad for me, you know that.”

“Yeah? Well I’d rather you break a wall on purpose than break me on accident.” She takes her muffin out of the bag, intending to throw away the bag as she walks by the island. Instead Chaeyoung’s pout greets her as she grabs her by the waist, spinning her around so that their hips touch.

“You never let me smash anymore, babe,” she jokes. Seoyeon scoffs, pushing her chest. She doesn’t even budge.

“You use that phrase again, and I’ll make sure you don’t smash anything at all.”

Absently her eyes drift to the sleeve on the brunette’s left arm, considerably less wrinkled and tattered than the ones she’s seen before. “You got a new sleeve,” she comments. Chaeyoung shrugs. 

“The old one had a whole bunch of holes in it.”

She lightly trails a finger up and down it, feeling the bumps and wrinkles underneath tight fabric, hearing Chaeyoung’s shallow inhale. “You should be more careful. These things are expensive.”

The moment’s broken with Chaeyoung’s snort as she pulls away. “Everything’s expensive, it’s called capitalism.”

Seoyeon rolls her eyes, walking back to her bed before flopping down on it. “Whatever. Be careful with your strength, I can feel indents on my waist.” Chaeyoung joins her, choosing to sit up and observe the bruises on her torso.

“You’re just frail,” she teases, poking one right in the middle of her stomach. The blonde hisses.

“If I were really frail, I would’ve stopped fighting a long time ago.”

“Who says you didn’t,” Chaeyoung mutters, yelling when Seoyeon hits her in the arm. She clears her throat once the conversation lulls, deciding to lay down next to the smaller woman. The tip of Seoyeon’s finger ignites, as weak as a matchlight as she circles it in the air. The flame wavers when she hears the hitch in her partner’s breath, how she squirms on the mattress, constantly shifting. Another finger lights. Another shift. She almost chokes on the thickness in the air, suffocating like sulfur.

She puts out the fires. The sulfur dissipates. Chaeyoung rolls onto her side, facing the blonde.

“When’s your next fight?”

Seoyeon shrugs. “Wednesday, I think.”

“It’s Monday.”

“I’m aware.”

“You look like shit.”

“I’m _aware_ , asshole.” She scowls, hitting the woman beside her again. “If it’s still bad I’ll take a bunch of drugs or something. I’ll be fine.”

Chaeyoung sighs. “If you say so.” She rolls onto her back again. Seoyeon can hear her fingers tapping on the mattress, the rhythm to some rock song that came out recently. “I have one tomorrow, then another Thursday and Friday. You’ll come, right?”

Seoyeon shrugs. “Maybe.” She frowns once it registers, turning her head to the brunette. “You realize that we’re only super _human_ , right? Emphasis on human?”

“I’ll be fine. I just need some more cash before the end of this month.”

She scoffs, rolling to face her completely. “You know, you could get a more constant flow of money if you got a job.”

“I’m not good at jobs.”

“You’ve never tried to get one.”

“Because it’s not for me!” she stresses, sitting up abruptly. Seoyeon sits up with her, present but not touching her. The younger sighs, running a hand through her hair. “I’m good at this, Seo, you know I am. Just let me keep doing what I’m good at.”

Seoyeon doesn’t respond, standing up and grabbing her jacket from the coat hook. “I need groceries,” she says instead, slipping it on. “You want to come?” Chaeyoung nods. “Then put a shirt on.”

She snorts, grabbing a left over sweatshirt from the dresser and throwing it on. She pauses once the collar is over her head, furrowing her brow at Seoyeon’s concerned eyes. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing, just…” she pauses, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You’re more than your power, Chaeyoung, you know that right?”

Chaeyoung scoffs, shaking her head as she grabs something off of the nightstand. “You sound like those support groups, Seoyeon. Have a little faith.” A small case is pressed into her hand as she passes, calling on her way out of the door. “And put on your glasses, blind bat.”

Seoyeon frowns, opening the case and sliding them on. “Maybe you should go to one sometimes,” she mutters, before following her out the door.”

So they both ended up lying. Chaeyoung wasn’t at the ring for her fight, and she was definitely not fine. Sure she’s not cursing every step anymore, but the soreness still makes her lethargic, like she’s swimming in molasses. That’s not good for a fight, especially when she’s supposed to be the small and quick one.

So yeah, she’s screwed.

Really she could say that she was screwed since the fight was scheduled. Her opponent was someone that she’s fought before, someone that she’s _beaten_ before. Many, many times. Which means that she has a vengeance. Seoyeon hates fighting people with a vengeance. 

She sighs as she tightens her gloves, scanning the crowd one last time for her friend. These aren’t like the fights you see on tv. There are no coaches, no referees, barely any rules (except for no killing in the ring. No one likes blood on their mats.) It’s all mano a mano; you win with brute strength, quick wit, and natural ability. Seoyeon curls her hands into fists as her palms heat up, holding them behind her back. 

No, not that kind of ability.

There are fighting rings for powered people, of course. Those are the ones that Chaeyoung prefers, says they give her more of a rush. Whatever works for her works, though. Seoyeon just wouldn’t step into another one if her life depended on it.

Her opponent cracks her knuckles across from her, bring the blonde back into the moment. She’s human, but she’s big, which means that she’ll have to be quick. Seoyeon winces as she stands from the stool, the burn in her thighs reminding her of her slight setback. That might be a bit of a problem.

“So we meet again, Lee,” she booms with a cocky grin, sauntering to the center of the ring. Seoyeon limps her way over, trying not to visibly wince at the strain in her muscles as she ties up her hair.

“Fate must have it in the cards for us,” she jokes. The other woman doesn’t look very amused. “Ready to get your ass beat again, Sooyoung?”

“I don’t know, I think I might have the advantage tonight,” she replies, then makes an obscene gesture. “Rough night? Or did Rhonda bend you over too hard last time?”

Seoyeon sneers, stepping back into her stance as she sees Hyunwoo put the whistle in his mouth. “You wish you knew.”

She decides to take the defensive once the whistle blows, letting Sooyoung come after her first before dodging out the way. It’s a common strategy of hers, but one that’s especially helpful now. The less movement required, the better. Once the opponent has gotten tired from attacking, she’ll use all her energy to keep them on their toes until the final hit. Easy.

Except she’s still not up to a hundred percent, and that’s what Sooyoung takes advantage of. She throws punch after punch in rapid succession, making it almost too easy for Seoyeon to dodge before sending another one that has her right where she wants her. It’s like she knows where each one of her bruises are, and then some. Seoyeon’s pretty sure that her cheekbone is broken, and she limps back towards the cage holding her stomach as Sooyoung cackles.

“There’s no recesses here Lee, or did you forget in all that time that you sat on your ass?”

She rests her free hand on the metal fencing, feeling it sink beneath her fingertips. Smoke curls out from under her arm, the little wisps as suffocating as a burning building. She closes her eyes, thinking of things to rein it in.

Just then the broken bits of her body decide to throb, and she lets out a slow exhale. ‘Ice,’ she thinks, ‘Ice sounds so wonderful right now.’

“If there’s no recess then why haven’t you come after me yet?” she asks. A smirk pulls at her mouth that makes her wince. Her face clearly didn’t agree with that. Sooyoung shrugs, walking forward.

“Was feeling generous,” she says when she arrives in front of the smaller girl. The hook hits her temple before Seoyeon even sees it coming, laying her flat on the mat with a loud thud.

“Key word: was,” she hears as her eyelids flutter. But the burn becomes too much, and she hears Hyunwoo begin to count to ten right as she loses the fight, darkness taking over her world.

What happens next is all a blur really, she came to a couple times but never enough to get up (which, in all honesty, she felt like she couldn’t even if she tried.) It was a knockout, Sooyoung got her money, and the ring did what they do with all knockouts--something that she was all to familiar with on the other side.

The concrete was cold, wet, and smelly, although that might’ve had to do with the dumpster right next to her nose. She can’t remember how long she layed there, barely remembered soft hands running over her body and an even softer voice calling her Miss.

"Miss? I’m going to call 911, okay? I’m taking you to a hospital.”

Seoyeon groans, batting the woman’s hands away. “N-No hospitals…” she mutters. She hears the woman sigh, a phone falling back into a purse. 

“Well what am I supposed to do then? I can’t just leave you here.” Seoyeon doesn’t answer, feeling the warm tendrils of sleep pulling her back in. Then she hears a smacking sound, and the woman speaks again. “You’re a nurse, Romsae, stop being stupid.” The last thing she registers is her arm being thrown over a shoulder and her body being lifted from the ground, the woman grunting under her dead weight.

Next thing she knows, there's something cushy underneath her and a beautiful woman above her. She must be in heaven.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, feel free to leave any comments that you have, and I hope you enjoyed.


End file.
